Running the bottom of the track in the strip of traction compound applied to the lower groove, Jones turned a lap at 128.082 mph (14.981 seconds) in the final round of knockout qualifying to edge last Sunday’s Michigan winner, Kyle Larson (128.057 mph) by .003 seconds.

The pole was the first for the rookie of the Year contender.

“We’ve got a good pit stall; we’ve got a good starting spot,” said Jones, who finished third in the No. 77 Toyota behind Larson and Furniture Row Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. at Michigan. “I’ve been saying each week, we just need to have a solid weekend.

“We need to qualify well. We need to have good pit stops and we need to race well. We’ve checked off a few of those things so far. We just need to keep it going for tomorrow night.”

Larson brought a contrarian strategy to qualifying, running the top of the track through the third and fourth turns, eschewing the grip strip at the bottom.

“I wish I could have gone just a few thousandths faster, but ended up second,” Larson said. “So not bad. I really wanted that pole there just because I was doing something different than everybody, but we’ll start on the front row tomorrow and hopefully be there at the end.”

The two pole favorites, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, both found themselves in the top lane at the .533-mile concrete track — but not by design. After posting the fastest lap of the day (129.921 mph) in the first round, Busch washed up the track in Turn 3 on a hot lap in the second round and qualified 18th, missing the cut for the final round.